Search Results for: vfr

Stick A STEM On It I am a solo circumnavigator. In 2017 I followed Amelia Earhart’s route on the 80th anniversary of her flight. The reason most people don’t know who I am is because my flight ended differently. Regardless, I mention this because I have the experience both of preparing and of flying the […]

Piper Aircraft has announced that its IFR-capable Pilot 100i single-engine trainer has earned approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Based on the Piper Archer, the aircraft received its FAA certification last December alongside the Pilot 100 VFR-only version. The models were introduced at Sun ‘n Fun 2019. “We are eager to bring […]

The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the July 26 fatal crash of a Challenger CL600-2B16 on approach to Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK) in California. The twinjet was destroyed and all six on board died after the crew lost control on a circling approach in marginal VFR conditions, largely due to smoke from […]

Florida Tech has announced that it has become the first U.S. university to own and fly an electric aircraft with the acquisition of a Pipistrel Velis Electro. While the model is not yet FAA-certified, the university intends to use the aircraft to “give students the opportunity for experiential research with cutting edge technology.” According to […]

I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday but I know exactly where I was on July 17, 1999. I was standing on the ramp at Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Connecticut pre-flighting an F33 one of my students had loaned me. I was flying down to Cross Keys, New Jersey, to go skydiving. A lineman […]

Shopping the market for a fun, reasonably affordable and easy-to-fly two-placer? Add the Ercoupe to the list of potential candidates. Nearly 82 years later, owners still appreciate the Ercoupe’s intended design as an exceptionally safe airplane that’s resistant to stalls and spins. But there’s more bragging rights. It’s really the first successful production GA airplane […]

It’s hot. The air is a muddy bisque of pine smoke from Canadian wildfires, making for freakish sunrises and sets, dotted with multi-colored flaming orbs. If I didn’t know better—and I rarely do—I’d swear this was the CGI backdrop for a rejected George Lucas student film project, but its weirder. It’s Iowa. Between EAA’s mass swoon […]

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has announced plans to hold a cross-country air race for electric aircraft. According to the association, the 1,000-NM cross-country race will be a resumption of the Pulitzer air races first held in the early 1920s with the winner to be awarded the Pulitzer Trophy. The Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Air Race, […]

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The PlaneEnglish Aviation Radio Simulator (ARSim), already used widely by general aviation pilots to master radio communications, will now be deployed to train future U.S. Air Force pilots thanks to a recent $2.4 million, 3-year contract. Under the contract, the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Simulator Branch will fund […]

From time to time, pilots are confronted with a set of circumstances posing a significant challenge to their ability to complete a mission. It might be a mechanical problem, but it most often involves uncooperative weather. The time-honored act of launching into poor weather to “take a look” sometimes works out, but the chances of […]